Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

As I have previously admitted, I am not in the habit of making pretty cupcakes, but I do make delicious cupcakes (and isn’t that what matters most?). My husband is a big fan of the chocolate and peanut butter combination, so for his birthday I made him these wonderful chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. These are very easy and very delicious. Neither the cake or frosting recipes are mine. The cake is the Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe which is, in my opinion, the best chocolate cake recipe out there. The frosting recipe is from food.com and is absolutely perfect. Please, if you make this cake, make the frosting, too.  Once you have made homemade frosting, you really cannot eat the canned stuff ever again.

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350ƒF. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.  Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups with paper baking cups. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth
• 5 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar ( or more, to taste)
• 1 -3 tablespoon milk (only if needed to thin) (optional – I have never used)

Directions